Kate Middleton had not been seen since Christmas Day—except for the TMZ paparazzi picture—until this weekend. For Mother’s Day, the Prince and Princess of Wales released a photo of Kate with her three children, and it appeared as if she was doing well.

However, what followed was not what the palace had wanted. On social media, users found strange errors in the picture, and experts claimed it was photoshopped. The conspiracy theories surrounding Kate are only growing following the botched image edits, and it didn’t take long before the princess commented on it.

The drama surrounding the picture has left William and Kate in a very tough situation. Let’s take a closer look at what experts in the field found strange about it.

In recent weeks, conspiracy theories about where Kate Middleton is, how she is doing, and all sorts of things have come to light on the internet. The fact that the princess hadn’t been seen since Christmas Day – and no picture of her had been published by Kensington Palace – left many royal fans to believe that there was something The Firm had been hiding.

Kate Middleton health rumors – paparazzi picture of her raises questions

TMZ published a paparazzi picture of Kate sitting in a car with her mother, Carole Middleton, in Windsor a few weeks ago, but it did little to quell the rumors about how the Princess of Wales was doing. In fact, it only seemed to fuel them.

There have been whispers that Kate possibly wanted her picture taken as she sat in the car. However, according to Christopher Andersen, author of The King, it was “definitely” not staged.

“She was trying to sneak out of Windsor with her mother and was clearly not pleased that they had been spotted by a photographer,” Andersen told Fox. “This cloak-and-dagger stuff is only going to fuel more speculation about what’s really going on with Kate and with her father-in-law, King Charles.”

He added, “In its typically smug fashion, the palace issued a statement last week insisting that everything was going according to plan. They never explained, however, why Kate spent weeks in the hospital after ‘planned abdominal surgery’ and has needed to remain closeted away for months. It’s all been terribly fishy from the get-go.”

On Sunday, on Mother’s Day, Kensington Palace finally released a picture of Kate. The Princess of Wales is seen sitting on a patio surrounded by her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, which many took as a sign that she was doing well following her surgery in January.

Kate Middleton – new picture with Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis

“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day,” the caption on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ official Instagram account read. It was signed “C,” meaning Kate herself had written it.

At first, royal fans were filled with joy. The picture was sent to global news agencies, and many sent Kate their best wishes.

Royal historian Kate William told CNN that she believes Kensington Palace released the picture of Kate to “stop the speculation” while she recovers in private.

“They [Kensington Palace] are trying to send a clear message to both the public and the press to respect Kate’s privacy on this medical matter,” Williams said. “What they’re trying to say is Kate is recovering, she’s fine, no more worries, no more panic, no more speculation.”

The royal historian added: “I think the last thing they [Kensington Palace] want is for her to feel she can’t go out and walk in case she’s going to be photographed.”

In the comment section. However, it took only hours before everything had changed.

On social media, photography and picture-editing experts quickly began questioning the picture’s authenticity. Many details appeared to have been manipulated, with some being more clear than others.

Fans accuse new picture of Kate Middleton of be manipulated – gruesome errors revealed

“Professional photographer here. Look closely at Princess Charlotte’s wrist. This is what happens when you composite layers in Photoshop. I’m not speculating on why the photo was edited like this, but it’s weird,” portrait photographer Martin Bamford wrote.

There were several significant details social media users became obsessed with analyzing, including Charlotte’s half-missing sleeve and blurred skirt and Kate’s misplaced zip.

Charlotte’s knee—as well as Kate Middleton’s hand around Louis—was “blurry,” and her wrist and jumper sleeve were accused of being manipulated.

Some social media users claimed that “editing fails,” including Kate’s left hand not having a wedding ring and even her chin being photoshopped.

“The more you look at this, the worse it gets. the hands, the fact some parts are so blurry and some so sharp, the way Charlotte is apparently balancing in that position, there is literally a crease in the step, the reflection in the window doesn’t match,” one user wrote.

“Not really kept up with this whole conspiracy theory, but this photo is SOO DODGY two of their hands look very weird as if they’re AI generated, and the girls arm has 100% been photoshopped and her skirt also looks weird as f— as well?” another user added, continuing, “but if it’s a real photo – *why* would they edit it so much and so badly? they’re not stupid they would’ve seen all the rumours going about, releasing an awfully edited photo only fuels them.”

News agency says “source has manipulated the image”

It didn’t take long before news agencies began investigating the picture. The Associated Press, Reuters, Getty Images, and Agence France-Presse all decided to issue “kill notices,” which are advisory notices to remove or not use a specific photo.

“It appears that the source has manipulated the image,” the Associated Press notification read.

They also released a statement, saying, “The Associated Press initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. The AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards. The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.”

Speaking to GB News, Dr Hany Farid, a professor of computer sciences, said the work on Princess Charlotte’s sleeve looked like a “bad Photoshop job.”

“I clearly see what is being referenced here, with respect to her sleeve. It looks like a bad Photoshop job. I know we talk a lot about AI lately but it is still possible to use traditional photo-editing tools,” Farid said.

The professor added, “What you would be worried about here is if Kate wasn’t in this photo and had been digitally inserted. This would be a dramatic manipulation.”

The fact that Kate Middleton’s wedding ring wasn’t visible in the picture further fueled speculation about something being hidden from the public. But according to Kensington Palace, there was a reason for that.

Kate Middleton issues apology – reveals she edited photo herself

Speaking to ITV News, Kate’s office responded that she wasn’t wearing the ring because she was “at home” when the photo was taken, and dismissed speculations about her marriage with William by stating, “It was her husband who took the photo.”

Initially, Kensington Palace decided not to comment on the alleged manipulation of the Kate photo. However, on Monday morning, Kate Middleton took to the Prince and Princess of Wales’ official X account to explain what had happened.

The image was indeed edited – and Kate had done it.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C,” the post read.

Meanwhile, as per Express, Kensington Palace has confirmed it “would not be reissuing the original unedited photograph of Kate and her children.”

Speaking to GB News, royal expert Katie Nicholl stated that Kensington Palace will now be under much pressure.

“What’s so major in all of this is that four international picture agencies have killed this image. That’s really rare,” Nicholl said.

“I can’t think of a a time since I’ve been doing this job for the best part of 15 years where a royal image has been recalled. So that’s highly unusual. It might force Kensington Palace’s hand.”

The conspiracy theories surrounding Kate Middleton, her marriage to William, and how she really is doing after the “planned” abdominal surgery have been ongoing for weeks. The manipulated picture didn’t improve things, but at least Kate has spoken out about it now.

Kate Middleton’s uncle reveals details about her health recovery

Meanwhile, there haven’t been any significant updates from Kensington åalace about how she is doing, other than the does saying that her recovery is going according to plan and that she is doing ‘well.

However, another family member of Kate’s decided to reveal details about her health just some days ago.

Gary Goldsmith, Kate Middleton’s uncle, spent time in the Big Brother house as a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother. He entered the house last Monday, but had to leave as early as on Friday.

During his time in the house, Gary spoke about his niece several times.

In one clip, he talks to his fellow Celebrity Big Brother house contestants, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne, about the rumors about Kate’s health, saying people should leave her alone.

“I think they should leave her alone right now because there’s a reason why they’re [family] not talking about it, and they are giving her a little bit of space. I just think it’s fundamentally wrong and if it was happening to anybody else they would think to give them some space. But because Kate’s Kate, she does such an amazing job, there’s always interest in her,” Goldsmith said.

“She’s the number one royal for a reason and I just beg people to give her some space. I do think that they’re changing the dynamic and they are family centric. They’ve got duty and it’s a privilege to have the roles that they do have, but it’s family first. You’ve got to look after yourself. You put your own oxygen mask on before you look after others. Kate, get well, love you and when you’re ready we’ll see you again. That’s what we do to anyone else, why not her?”

Royal expert claims Kate Middleton is “depressed” over uncle’s ‘Big Brother’ appearance

Moreover, Goldsmith revealed to other contestants in the Celebrity Big Brother house that he had spoken to Kate’s mom, Carole Middleton, about his niece’s health.

“I spoke to her mum; she’s getting the best care in the world,” he said. “She’s amazing, she will be back, of course, she will.”

According to royal expert Jennie Bond, Gary Goldmisht’s comments about Kate’s health might have deeply upset her. She claims that the Princess of Wales most likely feels “fragile” and “depressed” about her uncle appearing on Celebrity Big Brother and that it’s the “last thing she needs” as she continues her recovery.

Moreover, Bond says that even if he wouldn’t do anything embarrassing, it could hurt the royals.

“I don’t think it’s a particularly close relationship and I don’t think he’s part of the ‘inner circle’ anymore – I think he’s increasingly been pushed outside that circle now. He’s very much a freelancer, doing what he wants,” she told the Mirror.

“Clearly, whatever’s happened to Catherine, she’s probably feeling fragile – mentally as well. To have a serious setback like this at the prime of your life, it must knock your confidence, and so she’ll be fragile at this stage in her recovery and to have this thrown at her. She must just be thinking, ‘Why, why, why did Uncle Gary have to do this? ‘I imagine she’s thoroughly depressed about it.”

“I think it’s the last thing she’d want”

Jennie Bond added, “I think that Gary comes from a good place in his heart. If he talks about her it’s – in his view – to give her side of the story, give her a mouth, a voice, when he knows she can’t off the back of allegations made of her.”

“But I think it’s the last thing she’d want – if Catherine or William want to say anything, they will say it. They don’t need anyone else to, least of all someone within their own family – and they don’t have that strong connection anyway.”

What do you make of this? Should Kate Middleton and Kensington Palace post another picture of Kate for the public to see, or is it fine that they stay quiet? Please share this article with friends and family on Facebook and give us your opinion.